Mango vs Tranga
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mango | Tranga |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 59 · Fair |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Crystal | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,777 | ★ 389 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | ComiXology | ComiXology |
What are Mango and Tranga?
Mango
Mango is a self-hosted manga server and reader written in Crystal, designed to be fast and lightweight. It supports multi-user accounts, reading progress tracking, and an OPDS feed for external readers.
- Manga library and reader
- Multi-user accounts
- Reading progress tracking
- OPDS feed support
Tranga
Tranga is an automated manga downloader that monitors series from various connectors and saves them in formats ready for Komga and Kavita. It supports scheduling and notifications for new chapters.
- Automated manga downloading
- Komga and Kavita output
- Scheduled checks
- New-chapter notifications
Mango vs Tranga: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Mango's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Tranga is actively maintained. Mango is written in Crystal, while Tranga is built with C#. Licensing differs — MIT for Mango versus GPL-3.0 for Tranga. Mango is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Tranga. Mango is the more established project (first released 2020), while Tranga arrived in 2023. Mango has the considerably larger community, at 1,777 GitHub stars versus 389.
Why pick each one
Choose Mango if…
- Very lightweight
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- Slower development
- Manga-focused only
Choose Tranga if…
- Good companion to manga readers
- Active development
Watch out for
- Connector legality varies
- Manga-focused
Frequently asked questions
Is Mango or Tranga better?
Neither is universally better. Mango has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mango and Tranga free and open-source?
Yes. Mango is licensed under MIT and Tranga under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mango and Tranga with Docker?
Mango: yes. Tranga: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mango or Tranga?
Mango has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Tranga. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.